Chương 78: Amazing Camera

Lloyd and his team walked through the forest. More than half the day had already passed, with only a few hours left until the Exam's end, and with every step, the tension in the air seemed to grow thicker, gathering around them like a dense, invisible cloud. The trees stood motionless, not a single leaf stirring, and the forest's usual sounds — birdsong, the rustle of small creatures — had vanished, leaving behind an oppressive, almost suffocating silence that pressed against the ears.

Suddenly Lorian stopped, raising a hand in a warning gesture, and turned to the rest of the team, his gaze sweeping quickly across the treetops, as though searching for something important, lingering on each shadow a moment longer than necessary, studying every gap between the leaves with almost obsessive care. — We need a break.

Everyone nodded silently, sinking wearily to the ground among the roots and dry leaves, stretching out stiff legs, feeling the exhaustion of the past few days weighing more heavily with each passing moment, settling like lead into every muscle. Lorian, as usual, climbed as high as he could up the trunk of the nearest tree, disappearing into the thick foliage almost soundlessly, as though merging with the tree itself, becoming part of the forest.

Lloyd crossed his arms behind his head and stared up at the sky, feeling the exhaustion of two and a half days settling deeper into every muscle of his body, a dull, aching weight that seemed to have sunk clear into his bones, as though he'd aged a decade in just a few days. Drops of frost still glistened on the ground beside him, remnants of the morning chill, slowly evaporating under the sunlight filtering through the leaves, rising in thin wisps of steam that dissolved into the air.

Suddenly he heard a strange, mechanical sound nearby — a faint whirring, like the hum of some tiny motor. Turning, he saw a white camera perched on thin legs, with small wings on its sides and a tail, hovering in the air at eye level, swaying gently, as though studying him with curiosity, tilting its body first one way, then the other. He carefully took it in his hands, feeling its cool, smooth surface, seamless and free of any visible detail, as though carved from a single block of ceramic.

"These cameras really are strange here." A faint, pleasant warmth washed over Lloyd's face, radiating from Brand's body nearby, who was clearly watching his little inspection with a raised eyebrow and no small amount of skepticism.

"Then again, I guess I'd say they're perfectly normal — by local standards, anyway." He gave a faint smirk at his own thoughts and went back to studying the sky, watching the sparse, fake clouds drift slowly toward the horizon, their edges too perfect, too precise to be real, as though drawn with mathematical exactness.

Lloyd had never really given much thought to whether monsters or other Players were watching them — for some reason, he'd always trusted Lorian's hearing without question, that almost supernatural ability of his to sense the faintest danger long before it arrived, that sharp, animal instinct that hadn't failed them once during all these days spent in this strange, artificial forest. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"He is an Elf, after all." Then Brand spoke up abruptly, turning to face Lloyd, the flame on his shoulders dimming slightly, as though he too had shifted into a more serious, focused state, casting duller, muted light across the ground, flickering among the dry leaves. — Lloyd, don't you think all this is kind of strange? Lloyd, in turn, looked at Brand with mild surprise, raising an eyebrow, setting the odd camera down on the soft moss by the tree roots. — What exactly?

Brand crossed his legs and tilted his head, his whole manner making it clear this wasn't just another idle conversation to pass the time, but something that had been weighing on him for a while, lodged beneath his ribs like a persistent, nagging thought. — Think about it. We've been here almost three days now. This whole time, we haven't run into anything worse than Shadows and other Players. Not even a hint of a Nightmare — we haven't even come across a single Phantom. Can everything really be this simple?

Lloyd scratched his chin thoughtfully, staring up into the tangle of branches overhead, where sunlight broke through the leaves in uneven, trembling patches. He'd turned this same question over in his own mind more than once these past few days, lying awake beside the dying fire, but he'd never landed on any clear answer. — Well, I can't really disagree with you there.

If we'd run into a Nightmare, that would at least explain why they didn't throw Phantoms into the mix too — that would've been way too much for us to handle. But we never crossed paths with one. Lloyd leaned back, propping himself up on his elbows, feeling the cool earth against his back through the fabric of his hoodie, and the corners of his mouth twitched into an uncertain, strained half-smile, more an attempt to reassure himself than any real amusement. — I'll just hope we got lucky.

Their conversation ended there, but an uneasy residue lingered in both their chests, a nagging sense of foreboding that refused to leave, quietly stirring somewhere deep inside, like a coiled snake waiting to wake and strike at the worst possible moment. Lloyd glanced once more at the white camera resting in the soft moss, and for a moment it seemed as though its tiny lens had flickered, catching a glint of light that shouldn't have been there at all.

A few minutes later, Lorian climbed down from the trees — his usually expressionless face now looked faintly troubled, his brows drawn together ever so slightly, and his movements, always fluid and confident before, now seemed a touch sharper, a touch more hurried, betraying an inner tension unusual for him.

"Seems like even someone like him can be unsettled by something." Lorian swept his gaze over the whole team, lingering on each face a bit longer than usual, as though gauging whether they were ready for what he was about to say, weighing whether it was even worth sharing his concerns at all, and then he turned, gesturing forward, deeper into the forest, toward where the trees grew denser and the shadows darker, weaving together into an almost impenetrable wall of gloom. — Time to move.